Davie cop accused of 2009 rape still waiting on second trial

DAVIE — Stephen Olenchak, the Davie officer accused of drugging and raping a family member in March 2009, is still waiting for a new trial date.

On Monday, Broward Circuit Judge Jeffrey Levenson said he may set a trial date at the next status hearing on July 11.

It will be Olenchak's second trial.

His attorney, Jim Lewis, expects it to begin sometime this summer.

In his first trial, jurors found him guilty in December 2010 on one charge of sexual battery by digital penetration and acquitted him of a second charge of penile penetration.

A judge was forced to declare a mistrial after a juror admitted to doing her own research on Wikipedia and bringing printouts to the jury room.

Olenchak was arrested in March 2009 by Davie police on charges he raped a family member, then 19, while his wife and 4-year-old son slept next to them in the same bed. Olenchak claimed the young woman seduced him.

In the upcoming trial, Olenchak will be tried on one count of sexual battery on a helpless victim, a first-degree felony with a maximum 30-year sentence.

In the first trial, Olenchak faced two charges of sexual battery, a second-degree felony with a maximum 15-year sentence.

Prosecutors upgraded the charge in January after Olenchak rejected a plea deal of three years.

Since his arrest, Olenchak has come to every hearing, but was not in court Monday.

In May, Levenson told Olenchak he was no longer required to attend status hearings.